Biggest Travel Story Of 2017: The Bumping And Beating Of Dr. David Dao

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) greets protesters against United Airlines at O'Hare International Airport on April 11, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The protest was in response to airport police officers physically removing passenger Dr. David Dao from his seat and dragging him off the airplane, after he was requested to give up his seat for United Airline crew members on a flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky Sunday night. (Photo credit should read JOSHUA LOTT/AFP/Getty Images)

This is the time of year when journalists look back at the year that was. And in travel, there was arguably no more important event than the beating and dragging of passenger Dr. David Dao off a United Airlines flight.

To many, the treatment of the Kentucky doctor symbolized everything wrong with airline transport in 2017. But the good news is that Dao's suffering has apparently led to a tremendous decrease in passengers being denied boarding.

(Disclosure: I own stock in Southwest Airlines.)

For those who have mercifully already forgotten, here’s a brief outline. On April 9, 2017, United wanted to bump four passengers on United Express Flight 3411 from O’Hare International Airport to Louisville, Kentucky. The stated goal was to make room for four United employees. The airline offered compensation of $400 in flight vouchers then doubled it, but there were no takers, reportedly because it was the last flight of the day.

Four passengers were selected to be involuntarily bumped. Three complied, but the fourth, Dr. David Dao of Louisville, refused, saying he had to be at work at the hospital the next day.

Airport security was called, Dao was yanked out of his seat, screaming. Dao’s face hit an armrest during the struggle. He was dragged, unconscious and with a bloody mouth, down the aisle and off the plane. Of course, passengers filmed the spectacle on their phones and the images—and the outrage—quickly went viral.

United did not help themselves when CEO Oscar Munoz issued a statement calling the incident "re-accommodating the customers". Munoz also called the screaming passenger "disruptive" and "belligerent." After a further uproar, (even President Trump described United’s treatment of Dao as “horrible”), United issued what was perceived as a more sincere apology, with Munoz promising such an incident would never happen again on United. Munoz was also called to testify before Congress.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 02: United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz testifies before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about oversight of U.S. airline customer service in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill May 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. The commercial airline industry has been under great scrutiny since a ticketed customer was injured by Chicago Police as he was violently removed from a United Airlines flight on April 9. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Within weeks, United and Dao reached an "amicable" settlement, terms of which were not disclosed. Two security guards involved were eventually fired.

Just as important, the major US airlines vowed to change their denied boarding/bumping policies. First, airlines offered eye-popping amounts to convince passengers to surrender their seats nicely. Delta offered up to $9950, topped by United offering up to $10,000. Southwest announced it would stop overbooking altogether. And all of the airlines apparently made a concerted effort to curtail the practice.

The airline effort to cut down on overselling has paid off in the lowest bumping rates since 1995 when the Department of Transportation started keeping denied boarding records. In the last quarter, (July through September) DOT says the 12 largest airlines in the US denied boarding to just 2,745 out of 177 million passengers, a microscopic bumping rate of 0.15 per 10,000 fliers.

Of the 12 airlines surveyed, those topping the 2017 3rd quarter list had even more remarkable numbers. Delta and Virgin America each bumped just 0.01 of their fliers, with JetBlue in third place at 0.02. And even United seemed to get religion. The airline finished in fourth place on the list, bumping just 0.04 of every 10,000 fliers.

Some of us may miss getting 'free money' in terms of flight vouchers for being bumped. (Though few will miss the airport food coupons and lousy hotels for the delayed.) But most of us will be thankful to get where we’re going without being unceremoniously tossed out of our paid-for seats.